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“She mentioned it, yes.”
“And you didn’t think it would be wise to be anywhere else when I got here?” she asked incredulously.
“That kind of would’ve defeated the purpose, wouldn’t it? I specifically asked Ms. Jennings when you’d be collecting your belongings, and she seemed to have this crazy idea that Saturday evening was the only possible time you could squeeze this into your schedule.”
His raised eyebrow said it all. He saw right through her.
“I’ve had a busy couple weeks,” she said weakly.
He nodded once, but only continued looking at her with a steady gaze. Almost as though he were looking for something.
“Didn’t Beth think it was weird when you asked about me?” she blurted out.
“Probably.”
“That wasn’t your best plan,” she said stiffly. “Now she probably thinks something is going on between us.”
“Yes, she definitely thinks that. Well, actually, everyone does after your yelling in the kitchen.”
The part of Sophie that had played assistant for so long slipped out, because she rushed to reassure him. “Well, she may have her suspicions, but it’ll blow over. And she’s in human resources, so she’s pretty much the dead end of the gossip train.”
“Ms. Jennings isn’t dealing in suspicions any longer, she’s dealing in facts.”
“You told her…that we…you know…”
“Not in those words, no. But I told her that I’d lost something, and I wanted it back. I think she put the pieces together.”
Sophie tried to process, but her brain didn’t seem to be keeping up with her racing heart.
“What did you lose?” she whispered.
“Come on, Sophie,” he said as he stepped closer. “You’re smarter than this.”
At the reminder of his assessment of her intellect, she stiffened. “I’m not coming back here, Gray. I’m not going to be your disposable assistant, and I sure as hell am not going to tiptoe around, trying not to embarrass you while waiting for you to decide that our relationship has run its course.”
He moved closer still, and she became captivated by the heat in his eyes. She hadn’t seen this expression before from him, and she felt nervous. So much for her being a people person. She’d never felt so confused.
“You don’t embarrass me,” he said, reaching for her hand. “You couldn’t. You’re the best part of me.”
Every self-preserving instinct in her body was screaming at her. Pull back. Run. Kick him in the balls.
She stayed. “What are you trying to say?”
“I want you back,” he said simply.
“As your secretary or bed partner?”
His eyes flashed angrily. “Don’t.”
“What else am I supposed to think? You made it perfectly clear that my role in your life was to lie on my back, while you could find any old employee to take care of your stapling.”
He opened his mouth, but shut it again, looking frustrated. She nearly softened. Like a foolish woman in love, she found it endearing that he was pushing himself so far out of his element for her.
But she couldn’t relent. Whatever plan he had in store for them would involve rules and boundaries and heartache. It would never work.
“I have to go,” she said softly.
He swallowed and nodded. He looked panicked, and she longed to help him with whatever he was struggling with, but he was no longer her personal project to be tweaked and prodded.
